Jeff Gordon won the fall 1996 NASCAR Cup Series race at North Wilkesboro Speedway on 22 September, capping a dominant weekend for Hendrick Motorsports at the famed 0.625-mile short track.
What happened at North Wilkesboro in 1996?
Terry Labonte opened the season at North Wilkesboro on 21 April 1996, taking the checkered flag in the No. 5 Chevrolet. Gordon answered in the fall, winning his third straight race and stretching his points lead over Labonte to 111 with four races left. Labonte rallied to claim his second Cup title that year, but the track’s final points-paying events belonged to the Hendrick pair.
The 1996 races marked the last Cup Series points events at North Wilkesboro before its 30-year hiatus. The track returns to the schedule on 18 July 2026 with the Cup Series regular-season opener airing on TNT at 7:15 p.m. ET.
Why it matters for Jeff Gordon’s 1996 title run
Gordon’s fall win at North Wilkesboro came during a stretch where he won three straight races. That surge built a cushion no one could erase, even after Labonte’s late charge. The No. 24 team’s consistency that season set the stage for Gordon’s fourth Cup championship in seven years.
Labonte’s own words underline the track’s quirks. He called it one of his favorites, citing tire management as the key. The old surface ate up rear tires fast, forcing drivers to nurse their cars through long runs. That made North Wilkesboro a chess match, not just a sprint.
Labonte’s North Wilkesboro legacy
Labonte won four times at North Wilkesboro in 36 starts, the most at any single track. His average finish of 9.2 ranks as his best at any venue. The Iron Man scheme he drove in spring 1996 carried him to victory, tying Richard Petty’s Cup record for consecutive starts before Petty’s mark fell the next week at Martinsville.
Gordon and Labonte combined for three of Hendrick’s four wins at North Wilkesboro. The fourth went to Geoff Bodine in a dramatic 1989 fall race. Dale Earnhardt led 343 laps and appeared set to win, but a final-lap tangle with Ricky Rudd handed the race—and championship implications—to Bodine.
What comes next for North Wilkesboro and Cup racing
After three years as the All-Star Race host, North Wilkesboro returns to Cup regular-season action on 18 July 2026. The 0.625-mile track’s reopening caps a long wait for fans who remember its tire-eating surface and wide grooves that invited passing.
Gordon’s 1996 sweep at the track stands as a footnote in a season that defined his dominance. Now, as Cup cars roar back under the lights, the track’s history—and his legacy—will share the spotlight once more.